wwwdotwhereismarydotcom
by Denaliyasha
Summary: Lorelai sees Tristan on TV and hears something surprising... Bible Boy is back, looking for his Mary, and he's going to extraordinary lengths... Trory. One-Shot


Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.

A/N: This might seem out of character, but it wouldn't leave me alone. Shakes fist at Fluffy Damn you, plot eagle! Just wait... I'll spray DDT on your food! Anyhow, review please. This is set... let's say the summer after college, ok?

**www dot where's mary dot com**

It was curiosity that had Lorelai flipping through Rory's Chilton yearbook. She didn't know why, but she had this sudden urge to find out what Bible Boy looked like. It had started when she'd heard the name "Tristan DuGrey" muttered by a group of giggling girls in the inn. It had sparked the memory that hey, that was Rory's tormentor.

So now, staring at his picture, Lorelai figured he looked familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was fate, then, that she decided to spend the rest of her short break mocking some daytime talk show. The minute she saw the guest, she almost choked. Tristan? On TV? Wow, talk about coincidences.

The interviewer, a blond woman in her early thirties, smiled at the camera. "And we're back, with one of the country's most eligible bachelors, Tristan DuGrey. We were just talking about your love life, Tristan."

A bright smile flashed at the now flustered woman. "Of course we were, Cyndi. So is everyone else, I think." The audience laughed.

Cyndi turned conspiratorially towards him. "So, for a few months now, you've been serial dating. However, they all seem the same; brown hair, blue eyes, intelligent. Is there a reason for that?"

"Yes, actually, there is." When she looked at him expectantly, Tristan smiled. "Oh, you want to know the reason?"

Cyndi giggled. Lorelai thought briefly how annoying that was before turning her rapt attention back to the smiling face of the Spawn of Satan.

"Well, you see, when I was in high school, I was the king. I dated all the girls, every one, until one day, we got a transfer student who'd gotten in on academic merit as opposed to family influence. Her name was Mary," here Lorelai froze, suddenly seeing where he was going with this, "and she hated me." He laughed. "Of course, I went after her, but she had no interest. And that made me try harder. You know, I even threatened to beat up her boyfriend once."

"What did she do?" Cyndi was eating this up.

"She told us to break it up and got upset at me. We eventually got to be sorta friends, and then I got in trouble and transferred to military school."

"So, did she have brown hair and blue eyes?"

Tristan smirked. "Yes. And, as a matter of fact, I'm looking for her." Lorelai spit out her coffee.

"You are?"

"Yeah. I was so horrible to her, but she was also my only real friend in high school. Heh," he had the good grace to look embarrassed, "I set up a website. www . wheresmary . com. If you know who I'm talking about and where she is, please, help me out?" This last appeal was made directly to the camera.

Lorelai turned off the TV, laughing her head off. Evil Tristan was looking for Rory! Unable to resist, she went over to her computer and typed in the website. There was a link that said "I've Seen Mary", which she clicked on. It had a questionnaire apparently to verify that the person had actually seen his Mary.

_**Question One: **Mary's full name?_

Lorelai Leigh Gilmore

_**Question Two: **Mary's main addiction?_

Coffee

**_Question Three:_** _What did Tristan take hostage?_

Lorelai had to think back to Rory's complaining. Aha! School books.

_**Question Four: **What did Tristan call Mary's boyfriend?_

Bag boy

_**Question Five: **Who had to be Mary's Romeo?_

Paris. Lorelai grinned at the memory. She entered a phone number where she could be reached and clicked "Submit". Oh, Rory was so going to kill her...

Tristan slid out of his car. His cell phone buzzed at his hip, getting up his hopes about his little website venture. He'd had it set up so that if three or more correct answers were given, it emailed the phone number to his cell. Five out of five correct answers? 555-4045. Wow, 5 of 5? Suddenly, his day was brighter. He dialed, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" A brisk male voice barked at him.

"Hi, it's Tristan DuGrey..."

"Oh, Lorelai said you'd call. Hold on." Tristan could hear him calling for someone.

"Hello?" This voice was way more perky.

"Hi, it's Tristan DuGrey."

"Bible Boy! Yay, you got my survey!"

Bible Boy? "Er, yes, I did. I'm assuming you're Rory's mom?"

"Yup. And you, oh Spawn of Satan, were the bane of Rory's high school years... and yet, she missed you when you left."

That was something he hadn't expected... and it raised his suspicions. "Rory doesn't know you did this, does she?"

"Nope!" Came the cheerful reply.

Tristan sighed. "Great, now she'll be mad at me."

"Why?"

"Because now, she'll have to find out from me what I was doing."

Lorelai sighed. "That's how it should be, anyway. By the way, why exactly did you go to such lengths?"

Tristan sounded embarrassed. "I got in touch with an old friend from Chilton, who pointed out that all the girls I've dated for years now looked and acted like Rory. I figured I have unresolved issues with her, so on a whim I decided to find her." A pin dropping would have echoed. Then Tristan laughed a bit. "Welcome to the inner workings of my mind."

"The dark workings." Lorelai paused. "Ok, I'm going to do you a favor. I'm going to get you invited to Friday night dinner."

"What?"

Lorelai explained. "Every Friday when Rory's home, we eat at my parent's house. They'll invite you if I mention you know Rory, because they'll be hoping she'll date you and marry a nice socialite with lots of money and status."

"Are you serious?" The idea of pushing Rory on him was ridiculous. And her grandparents?

"As the heart attack I almost had when I saw you on TV."

"OK. When do I show up?"

"Give me a number where YOU can be reached and I'll have them call you."

"Ok."

"Mom, remind me again why you haven't tried to get out of dinner yet?"

Lorelai ginned. "Sudden urge to see my parents."

"What aren't you telling me, Mom?" Rory's glare was accusing.

"Nothing. Ah, hello, Mother!"

Emily Gilmore gestured them into the house. "Hello, Lorelai, Rory. Rory, we invited an old friend of yours."

"Who?" Rory walked into the living room and froze as Tristan stood.

"Rory." It was amazing to see her again. He thought he'd prepared himself, but he hadn't been ready for the way her beauty socked him in the gut.

"Tristan?" She hesitated a minute, then ran over and hugged him. "Nice to see you! Where've you been?"

"Military school, then Loyola Marymount in Culver City." They sat down on the couch, Rory sitting sideways so that she could look him in the face.

"Loyola Marymount? That's far away."

"Yeah. Well, I wanted to get as far away from my parents as I could."

"Oh." Rory looked as though she didn't know quite how to take that, so he changed the subject. "What about you?"

"Yale." The adults had left the room at this point, Lorelai out of a wish to give them privacy and her parents out of a wish to leave them alone to flirt.

"Let me guess. Journalism major?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Astronomy, actually."

Rory's eyes widened, and Tristan couldn't help but smirk. "Astronomy?"

"Yup. The final frontier and all that."

"That's cool." She glanced down at her hands and blushed. "Still going through girls like Kleenex?"

"Ah... yeah." He had the grace to blush along with her. "As you may or may not know, I somehow seem to be one of the popular young people for the media to follow around. I'm like a smarter, more attractive, male version of Paris Hilton."

Rory was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"What?"

"I've got an image of you in pink frills, carrying a Chihuahua!"

Tristan put on an expression of mock horror. "Please! Miniature daschund."

Both of them dissolved into giggles. Rory was the first to regain her composure.

"Well, you went from King of Chilton to King of the United States, huh?" She tilted her head to one side. "I doubt all those girls appreciate being used."

"I'm not using them." Rory watched, fascinated. Was that a blush spreading across Tristan's cheeks? "I ran into a friend from Chilton two months ago, who pointed out that every girl I've dated for two years looked and acted the same."

"What do you mean?"

"They all have brown hair, blue eyes, and are completely addicted to coffee."

"Oh." Then what he'd said really penetrated, and her eyes got wide. "OH."

"Yeah. So I decided I needed to find you and resolve any issues."

"Oh. Well, then what a coincidence that you got invited for Friday night dinner."

"Actually, it's not coincidence at all." God, she was cute when she frowned.

"Huh?"

"I, uh... I set up a website. To see if anyone knew where you were."

For the second time, Rory burst out laughing. "Oh my god!" by this point, she was hugging her knees, tears running down her face. "That would be creepy if it wasn't so desperate!"

"Hey!" He frowned. "I'm not desperate."

Rory managed to calm down. "Tristan, you set up a website to find me. You couldn't have, say, called Paris?"

"Why? How would she know where you were?"

"She was my roommate in college." She smiled. "But I guess you wouldn't have known that."

"Nope. I left before you guys got that chummy."

"Oh." And then Rory sobered a bit more. "That really was kinda desperate, Tristan."

"I know. But I couldn't think of any other way to find you." He reached out a hand to her arm. When she didn't pull away, he took a chance and continued. "Look, Mar," he slipped back into the old nickname and was rewarded with a small smile, "I know you always thought I was just after you because I couldn't have you. And, in the beginning, that was true. But then I really started to appreciate your friendship. And so I stopped really chasing you. Then I started to actually fall for you. I couldn't do anything about it, because you wouldn't have believed me when I said that. And then you told Dean that you hated me, and for the first time in my life, that hurt. So, even after I left for military school, went off and became this social icon type person, I just wanted to find you and see if you'd give me another chance. This was, of course, all subconscious. I thought I was over you. But I wasn't. God, Rory, when you thought I wasn't over Summer? Back at Chilton? I was talking about you. I'm just asking for a second chance. I'd like to ask you out some time." Winded by his speech, Tristan sat back and waited for an answer.

Rory, completely shocked, was gaping like a fish. Well, that had been unexpected. She managed to force her mouth shut, and then smiled. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"Umm... do you want to go see a movie or something?"

"Of course." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, trying not to think about how good he smelled. "How about we go get dinner now?"

A/N: God, that felt good to get out of my system. Review, please!


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